NYU Steinhardt is committed to innovative and accessible teacher education. Beginning Fall 2026, every newly admitted full-time student in the MAT in Teaching Social Studies, Grades 7–12: Initial Certification program will receive a $20,000 per year scholarship. Apply now and start shaping the future of education.
In this one-year MAT program, you will build on your knowledge of history and social sciences, learn pedagogical strategies, and apply them in supervised student teaching placements. You’ll be qualified to teach social studies, history, and the humanities for grades 7–12 in New York State, with an option to pursue a certificate extension to also teach grades 5–6.
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Our faculty members are heading social studies curriculum reform and ongoing research in social studies teaching. You will work closely with them to learn:
Your graduate studies will begin with course work designed to ensure that you have a strong mastery of history, as well as an understanding that history is more than a compilation of names and dates but is also a field that fosters critical thought, debate, and dialogue between the present and the past.
You’ll learn how to integrate historical narrative with novels, film, music, photography, and visual arts, and incorporate geography, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, and anthropology into your social studies teaching, preparing you to teach the social science elective courses offered in many secondary schools.
You will complete two semesters of student teaching – one in middle school and one in high school – at two different New York City schools. Cooperating teachers and NYU faculty will offer feedback and guidance so you can develop and refine your teaching techniques.
Upon graduation, you’ll be eligible for certification to teach social studies, history, and the humanities for grades 7–12 in New York, with an option to pursue a certificate extension to also teach grades 5–6. You’ll be prepared for a career as a social studies teacher, teacher trainer, or curriculum specialist in middle and high schools, educational agencies, and community colleges.
Learn more about teacher certification and our degree's accreditation.
If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact teachlearn.gradadvise@nyu.edu.
Earn two degrees in just five years and embark on a career as a social studies teacher, teacher trainer, curriculum specialist, and more with our dual BA/MAT.
